November 13, 2025

The Download: AI to measure pain, and how to deal with conspiracy theorists

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. AI is changing how we quantify pain Researchers around the world are racing to turn pain—medicine’s most subjective vital sign—into something a camera or sensor can score as reliably as blood pressure. The…

November 2025

The Download: AI to measure pain, and how to deal with conspiracy theorists

November 13, 2025
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. AI is changing how we quantify pain Researchers around the world are racing to turn pain—medicine’s most subjective vital sign—into something a camera or sensor can score as reliably as blood pressure. The…

Google is still aiming for its “moonshot” 2030 energy goals

November 13, 2025
Last week, we hosted EmTech MIT, MIT Technology Review’s annual flagship conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Over the course of three days of main-stage sessions, I learned about innovations in AI, biotech, and robotics.  But as you might imagine, some of this climate reporter’s favorite moments came in the climate sessions. I was listening especially closely…